Indiana Republican Party

The Indiana Republican Party is a conservative political party in the US state of Indiana that is affiliated with the US Republican Party. The party has dominated the state's politics since the 1860s, supporting the Emancipation Proclamation and other liberal reforms passed by President Abraham Lincoln. During the early 20th century, the party became conservative, giving up its goal of protecting African-American rights in favor of opposing immigration and multiculturalism. The 1920s saw the Ku Klux Klan dominate the Indiana Republican Party, and almost all of the Republican candidates in the 1924 statewide elections were Klansmen. Edward Jackson, a Klansman, was elected Governor with the help of the KKK, but the murder and rape of white Protestant schoolteacher Madge Oberholtzer by Klan leader D.C. Stephenson led to the fall of the KKK in Indiana. By 2012, the party had adopted a new face, supporting federalism, "family values" (anti-gay and pro-life legislation), "personal liberty and freedom", and "volunteerism". In 2016, the Republicans held the governorship, one of two senate seats, 7/9 US House of Representatives seats, 6/7 executive office seats, 37/50 State Senate seats, and 69/100 House of Representatives seats.